The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for treating water and other liquids by removing minerals in solution and entrained gases. The present invention allows the gases to escape into the atmosphere while agglomerating the solids for ease in removal as by settling and/or filtration.
Certain characteristics of water and other liquids containing entrained gases (e.g. CO.sub.2 and/or N.sub.2) and dissolved minerals (e.g. Ca and/or Fe) have been discussed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,521. Further testing has revealed new information and uses for the basic apparatus disclosed therein. Although the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,521 may be used to disentrain gases and agglomerate solids of any fluid, for ease of understanding and disclosure, the fluid described will be water.
The molecular structure of water when in liquid form is an array of tetrahedrons made up of five individual H.sub.2 O molecules bonded together such that one H.sub.2 O molecule is positioned at each leg of the tetrahedron with a fifth positioned at its center. Additionally, impurities enter liquid water in the form of entrained gases and dissolved elemental minerals. That is, in addition to the individual H.sub.2 O molecules which make up liquid water, impurities such as gases and minerals also bond with the individual H.sub.2 O molecules to fashion part of the tetrahedral array. However, the bonds formed between the H.sub.2 O molecules, gases, and minerals throughout the array are the weak bonds developed from valence electron sharing. Thus, the operation of the nozzle arrangement disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,521 functions to break those weak bonds formed between the H.sub.2 O molecules, gases, and minerals when the water is relatively quiescent.
My U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,521 discloses and describes a pair of vortex nozzles which are similar in construction and operate to impart a rotation to water passing through them. The nozzles are positioned in an opposed relationship so that the water streams exiting the nozzles rotate in opposite directions. The nozzles further function to expel the oppositely rotating water streams at a high velocity and collide the two streams at approximately halfway between the nozzle outlets. That collision between the counter-rotating streams creates compression waves throughout the water which coupled with the high centrifugal velocity of the counter-rotating streams imparts a large amount of kinetic energy to the H.sub.2 O molecules, gases, and minerals. In addition, the compression waves produce a shearing action which aids in tearing apart the molecular structure of the liquid water. Thus, the compression waves and resulting increase of kinetic energy facilitate the breaking of the bonds between the individual water molecules, the water molecules and the entrained gases, and the water molecules and the dissolved minerals.
Specifically, the compression waves alternately compress and expand the H.sub.2 O molecules, entrained gases, and dissolved minerals, thereby, increasing their individual temperature. That increased temperature is reflected by increased electron energy and activity in the valence shells of the bonded H.sub.2 O molecules, gases, and minerals. Because the added heat has no release into the atmosphere, the temperature of the H.sub.2 O molecules, gases, and minerals continues to accumulate further increasing valence electron energy and activity. The accumulated heat/energy can only be dissipated through the release of the excited valence electrons. However, any release will break the bonds between the H.sub.2 O molecules, gases, or minerals sharing those valence electrons, and further cause the breaking of some of the bonds formed between the hydrogen and oxygen atoms comprising the H.sub.2 O molecules and the atoms comprising the gas molecules. Thus, at some point when sufficient heat has accumulated, valence electrons will be released to become free electrons, breaking the bonds formed between the H.sub.2 O molecules, gases, and minerals. The initial breaking of a few bonds weakens other bonds, which aided by the shearing force of the compressional waves facilitates the further release of valence electrons, thus, rending the tetrahedral array and breaking the liquid water into its constituent parts (i.e. H.sub.2 O molecules, hydrogen atoms, oxygen atoms, gas atoms, and minerals) and free electrons. The release of electrons is of extreme importance because it creates many ions, both positive and negative, in the water.
The above constituent parts, upon exiting the vortex nozzle arrangement, begin to recombine, however, because of the increased energy imparted to the system resulting in the free roaming electrons and water ionization, the tetrahedral array reforms without many of the gases being entrained or the minerals returning to solution.
First, many of the ionized gas atoms combine with other atoms or ionized atoms and free electrons to form gas molecules having increased energy and molecular movement. That increased energy and molecular movement provide the gas molecules with sufficient force to escape from the liquid water and return in their gaseous form to the atmosphere.
Second, the minerals agglomerate, thus, appearing in the liquid water as solids. The individual ionized elemental mineral atoms combine in sufficient numbers to form either a solid element or a solid compound depending upon the particular atoms involved.
Finally, because the entrained gases have been released into the atmosphere and the dissolved minerals have been agglomerated to return to their solid form, the hydrogen atoms, oxygen atoms, and remaining H.sub.2 O molecules reform the tetrahedral array developed in undisturbed water without any impurities. My U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,521, therefore, softens water by releasing entrained gases and agglomerating dissolved minerals.
Unfortunately, the agglomerated minerals are very fine, being on the order of one to ten microns, and settle very slowly which makes them difficult to remove from the liquid. Thus, if the agglomerated minerals are removed from the bottom of a reservoir using a technique such as suction, long holding times are required, or if filtration is employed, removal is difficult because of the small agglomerate size. Additionally, insufficient amounts of entrained gases are removed.
Hence, while my U.S. Pat. No. 4,261,521 has been effective in removing entrained gases and minerals in suspension, it is desirable to produce nozzles which remove even more entrained gases and minerals from solution and increase mineral agglomeration to enhance their removal by filtration or settling. My new invention is designed to accomplish that. While the primary focus of the invention is in the treatment of water primarily for human consumption, it should be understood that other liquids may be treated in like manner for various purposes, many of which were discussed in my earlier patents.